Number of Asylum Seekers in Hotels Halves in a Year
The use of hotels to house asylum seekers waiting for Home Office decisions has significantly dropped, with data showing a half-yearly decline. In June 2025, over 32,000 individuals were housed in hotel rooms, but by this June, that number had reduced to above 16,000.
This decrease parallels declines in legal migration arrivals, asylum claims, and small boat arrivals to the UK compared to the previous year. The Home Office attributed these figures to effective migration control policies, while acknowledging more work is needed on addressing small boat crossings.
Key Findings:
- A drop in family members joining legally resident individuals in the UK.
- Asylum claims are down by a fifth.
- Approximately 38,000 illegal arrivals were detected in the year to June, with 33,000 arriving by small boat from France.
- Claims for asylum have continued to decrease, with around 86,000 people seeking asylum—a fifth less than the previous year.
- Half of these applications came from individuals already legally in the UK.
The increase in hotel use coincided with a rise in English Channel crossings and a slowdown in Home Office decision-making processes regarding claimants’ rights to stay or leave the country. The new Starmer government set a target to end hotel use within five years, ordering officials to expedite claim decisions.
Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood noted improvements, including a reduction in the asylum backlog, falling numbers of asylum seekers in hotels, and increased illegal working arrests and deportations. However, she emphasized that more efforts are required.
Shadow Home Secretary Chris Philp criticized Labour’s handling of the issue, claiming they were relocating illegal immigrants from hotels to flats. He proposed that a Conservative government would implement stricter deportation measures and remove the influence of the European Court of Human Rights.
Reform UK, meanwhile, described the situation as Britain reaching "breaking point." Shadow Home Secretary Zia Yusuf promised robust action under their leadership, aiming to stop small boats in the Channel.
